July 19, 2010

Calling for Back-Up

A perfect illustration the other day of why you should back into parking spaces.

I was pulling out of my (backed-into) space at Fourbucks, turning right and heading for the parking lot exit.

An S-Class Mercedes on the opposite side of the laneway to my right had nosed in to his space. The Merc's tinted windows meant I couldn't see if anyone was in the car, but just as I approached it, I saw its back-up lights flick on.

Oh oh...

I leaned on my horn, as I tried to decide if I had time and space to stop and let the guy back up in front of me, with the attendant risk that he'd haul his steering wheel left-hand down and back right into me; or to speed up and get past him.

Fortunately, I was able to do the latter.

But the entire episode would have been avoided if the Merc driver had just backed into his spot.

For those of you who haven't been following this discussion, if you're parking in a regular lot, one way or another you're going to have to back up - either into the spot, or out of it. Our theory is that it's much safer to back IN, because as you drive past the spot to size it up, you can see if there's anything in your path.

True, it can be a bit tricky to make sure you can secure the spot, maybe having to fight off another contender for the spot. But at least you can see what's going on when you pull in, and pull out again.

But if you nose in and force yourself to back OUT, you can't see what's coming and you end up running into a cute little green Miata.

Or a kid on a bike.

Now you don't even have to make this choice if you can find a 'drive-through' spot, either a double-ended spot or a double end-to-end spot where you can drive in to the first and right into the second, park, then drive straight out again when you return.

But in most parking lots, where the spaces abut a sidewalk, a fence, a wall, or a curb stone, that option is not available.

So in those cases, please do yourself and everyone else a favour - please back in.

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Interesting that some of the "Green P" parking lots downtown actually have "Back in" painted at every spot in some of their lots. Case in point is the underground lot off of York Street. Even then, you come across many cars there nose in. Go figure?

The first time I saw 'Merc' as a short form for Mercedes-Benz it confused me too! Geez; that'd have been back in my early days as a Road & Track magazine reader. Growing up it meant 'Mercury' to me too..

Jim, I've been telling people this for years, personally and as an automobile journalist. I learned it the hard way decades ago when backing out of a spot in a Nassau parking lot. A lady, passing at speed, hit our rented VW. No great damage but a lesson to both parties.

Now a registered "old guy" I find backing up more difficult as I can no longer twist around in the seat to look behind. I have to rely on the mirrors and while that's okay on the driver's side, "objects are closer than they appear" totally distorts the passenger side.

If I, a car guy and ex-racer, find it hard to back in, imagine how difficult it must be for the average driver, who can barely manage to park in any direction without hitting something. Nevertheless I agree, to the point where, if I see an unlikely candidate reversing into a parking spot, I offer congratulations.

As I noted in my story on truckers this past weekend, those guys back up 18-wheelers using just their mirrors. With most cars having power mirrors now, you can adjust them for driving (i.e., much further out than most people do) then re-adjust them for parking.

And if you nose in because you can't twist around to see in, then how do you back out?!

How about the person who, even when you put on your signal to back in, sits right on your bumper and gets really annoyed that you want to back in - and won't back up to let you into the spot. Or the one who sees you backing into the spot and tries to get past behind you while you are backing up. Everyone is in a hurry, aggravated, rude and not too bright. Very irritating.

Right on Jim! My dad always made me back in when I learned how to drive. Although I do "cheat" the odd time by driving in forward into a spot so it looks like I backed in (love those spots). My dad recently broke that rule and damaged some guy's brand new BMW M5 (and the guy had no collision coverage). My dad caused $5000-$6000 damage on his car. Another lesson, carry full coverage!

One place one should always see a car backed in, is in a residential driveway.

There's no excuse to not back in to the driveway at one's house. Kids' bikes, skateboards, pedestrians etc. can all be seen when driving up to the house and dealt with and usually a driver is not in rush when arriving home. When leaving the driveway next time, the driver can see right in front of the vehicle and observe if anything has been left in the driveway, as well as see pedestrians and traffic.

Compare this to leaving the driveway if pulled in not backed in. A lot of times it's first thing in the morning, running late for work, in a hurry, no time to look for toys in the driveway, can't see the early morning jogger on the sidewalk, or clearly see street traffic etc.

It's a no brainer, but so are a lot of other things when it comes to driving (like staying in the right lane).

No question that backing in is the smart solution. Young Drivers of Canada have been teaching that for over 20 years. I am a car guy and ex-racer AND senior citizen.Backing up is no problem with blind spot mirrors.These adjustable, 5.1 cm mirrors just stick to your regular side mirrors and provide a wide angle view that includes blind spots and the painted lines in parking lots. Under $10.00 at Canadian Tire. No ECO tax!
David

Absolutely agree with you on backing into a parking spot, something I always do whenever possible, and something I'm always recommending to others. However, what's your take on parking when you're at some place like Home Depot, you've got a hatchback and you're buying something large that can only be put in through the back, with the rear seats down? In those cases, I nose in only because even if I backed in and left extra space behind me, someone is going to be an idiot and park over the line, leaving me without any space to get anything into the back.

The other huge advantages to this method are that when you back in, you have to drive past the spot, thus creating an opportunity to look at the spot for children, carts, debris etc. You also place the engine (in most cases) to the lot allowing easier access for boosts in the occasion your battery lets you down.

I have been backing in ever since I had to drive an old cube van. It was much easier to back in.

It is also a situation where those little convex mirrors are very handy. I still use the blind spot adjustment trick with the regular mirrors for routine blind spot checks while driving.

The big problem with backing up is the limited access to the trunk while shopping. Also in these crowded urban parking lots, people tend to be overly distracted and don't seem to pay much attention in the parking lot.

I have been very pleased with Ford's cross traffic alert which warns me of coming cross traffic while backing up. Every manufacturer should be offering this.

The notion is fine on those spots perpendicular to the street, but doesn't work for those "angled" to the direction of travel - and you're still left in the same predicament. SUVs, minivans and any vehicle with tinted windows create a sight blocking wall - period. I can understand why BMW has put front side-view cameras on their new cars as it allows one to see around when sight is impaired, but perhaps a pair on the back sides would also be effective. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow this lead.

In many cases these days, backing into a spot off on a busy street or parking lot isn't tolerated by those driver's behind you, and can in fact be dangerous just by the speed in which many drivers come around a corner if the spot you're vying for is close to an intersection (ie. you're damned if you do, damned if you don't). Also, drivers tend to not be courteous enough to let another driver out of a spot because it's "not to their advantage" unless they actually want that spot. There has to be a balance of patience on both sides with an understanding of the issues that the other drivers are going through.